That Still Small Voice
by alisunshine
Summary: The story delves deeper into what Emma and Graham were thinking during the Once Upon a Time Episode (1x05) "That Still Small Voice." Graham/Emma and Emma/Mary Margaret friendship.


**Author's Note:** So, this is my first story that I'm posting here. I usually don't ever post things that I write, but there isn't enough Gremma love on here, so I thought I would contribute something. I hope you enjoy it :) If you do, feel free to leave a review.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time. If I did, I might still enjoy watching the show.

That Still Small Voice

Emma pulled into the parking lot of the sheriff's station, shifting gears into place, reaching to unbuckle her seatbelt. She turned her keys in the ignition, listening as the sound of her car's rumbling engine was cut off, but didn't remove them, letting them dangle there freely.

She leaned back in her seat. Today was her first day as a deputy, and if she was being honest, she was nervous. She had accepted Graham's job offer more for Henry than herself- although, as far as jobs went, she was hard pressed to find one that seemed more attractive than working side by side with the handsome Irishmen- only now she couldn't do what she had become so accustomed to doing over the years.

Run.

This job had cemented her placement here; and even though she knew that she could never again live a life without Henry, roots were hard for someone to put down when they've scattered seeds in so many different places.

Emma heard a knock against her window and she startled, glancing over to see Graham, cheeky smile plastered on his face. Graham took a step to the side, expecting Emma to exit the car, and he chuckled when she rolled down the window instead.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully, his grin never faltering. She mustered a small smile in return, and he wondered if she was beginning to have doubts about this whole thing. "You alright?"

She shrugged absently. "I'm fine."

If he saw through the façade, he was a good enough man not to say anything.

"Well, then, you just gonna sit in there all day?"

She rolled her eyes at his good-natured teasing and he found a strange solace in it; she was beginning to act more like herself. Emma climbed out of the car, leaning against the closed door, arms folded tightly against her chest.

"Nervous?" He asked, putting what was meant to be a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She eyed it tentatively as his fingers curled around the top of her arm in a reassuring squeeze. Her instincts were telling her to shrug it off- she wasn't the world's most affectionate person, after all- but was surprised to find that she wasn't bothered by its presence.

"More nervous about what this all means, really." She mumbled, surprising them both with the admission.

"Well," Graham squeezed her shoulder one final time before removing his hand completely. "There's no need. It's a good fit, you and Storybrooke…"

"Really?" She gave a little huff of amusement.

This town was _so_ not her usual style. She had lived in big cities all her life. But, then again, she had never felt that she belonged in any of those cities.

Maybe Graham was right.

He gave her that same charming smile, before nodding. "Yeah." He held out a cup of what Emma assumed was coffee, before she lifted it to her lips, tasting the familiar sweetness of cocoa and…

"Cinnamon." Emma observed, her eyes flicking to his in surprise.

"I remembered," he said casually, failing to mention Ruby's knowing smile and teasing over the fact that he had memorized her order.

"Thank you." Emma gripped the cup of cocoa in her hands, genuinely touched by the gesture, offering him a smile.

"Come on, let's go inside." Graham said, and Emma felt that smile widen at the excitement present in his tone.

 _Maybe some roots wouldn't be so bad_.

* * *

"I'm surprised you accepted my offer." Graham said truthfully, shrugging out of his leather jacket and draping it over the top of the chair.

"Well, I couldn't say no to the dental."

He couldn't believe she was being like this. He had never seen her this unguarded before. It was a good look on her.

Graham smiled at her quip, a radiant beaming smile, and Emma felt her breath catch before she pushed it to the back of her mind.

* * *

Most of the day had been slow and entirely uneventful, often leading Emma to question why Graham had been looking to hire a deputy in the first place. Storybrooke wasn't exactly flooded with crime; it seemed as though Graham was more than capable of handling it all on his own.

Emma briefly wondered if maybe Graham had ulterior motives, ones concerning her, but immediately decided against it. He didn't seem like the type. She glanced over to her empty cup of hot cocoa sitting in the trash.

Yeah, definitely not the type.

"Hey." Graham poked his head out of his office, and Emma felt flustered, as if he knew that she had been questioning his intentions. "You want to grab some lunch?"

"Sure."

The two of them walked to Granny's together, although the number of eyes that immediately fell on them as they stepped through the door made Emma wish that they had taken the cruiser. Showing up in the police cruiser looked like a work lunch, but the two of them walking together to Granny's talking and laughing about Henry's antics read more like a date.

Still, based on the looks that people were giving them, Emma guessed that people had been talking about them anyway. Graham seemed to be thinking the same thing because he leaned over, whispering a quiet apology in her ear.

"When I came in and got your drink this morning… Ruby, she thinks I like you or something…" Graham tried to explain. "She gossips more than anyone else in this town."

"I guess she's just not used to guys being nice." Emma offered, trying to make the situation a little less uncomfortable.

The truth was, she wasn't used to it either.

"It's not a big deal. If anyone asks, we can just explain that we work together now, and that this is strictly professional…"

"Right." Graham swallowed roughly. "Do you want to sit?"

He gestured towards an empty booth and Emma quickly slid inside, Graham seating himself across from her. It took all of two seconds before Ruby sidled over to their table, placing napkins in front of them, implications lacing her every word.

"So, what can I get you to drink?" Ruby asked, and Emma could have sworn that she wiggled her eyebrows at her when Graham wasn't looking. "Emma, the usual?"

Emma gave her a pointed look, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"I think I need a minute to decide," she replied, fixing her eyes pointedly on the menu.

"That's fine, the two of you take your time." Ruby grinned, and Emma wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smile off of her face.

"See, I told you she lives for gossip." Graham remarked, leaning closer, lowering his voice so that she didn't overhear. Emma smiled back, but this time it was a bit strained, and he noticed. "You know, we can leave if you want, order something to go…"

" _No_." Emma shook her head adamantly. "That'll only make her believe it more."

Graham moved back again, relaxing into the cushion, pondering a solution.

"How about a drink then?"

Emma lowered her menu, staring at him in mock disapproval.

"Drinking on the job, sheriff?"

"Come on," he said, scoffing playfully. "One drink isn't gonna do any harm."

Emma wanted to argue, she wanted to point out that drinking together looked even more like a date than this already did, but he didn't seem to care.

 _Why didn't he care?_

"You know, you seem oddly at ease with this whole… situation."

"What situation?"

"The fact that Ruby, and probably all of these other people, might think that you and I…" She trailed off, finishing her statement with a series of awkward gestures.

"Why is it odd that I don't care whether or not people think we're an item?" Graham asked.

"You _should_ care."

"Why?"

"Because…" Emma opened her mouth to catalogue the long list of reasons why a relationship between them would be inappropriate, but she was having trouble coming up with any. "You're my boss."

He laughed.

A loud, full laugh that took Emma back.

"If that's the best you've got, then…" He shook his head, amused. "I don't know, maybe we _should_ go out."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Now I really do need a drink."

Graham shrugged. "Offer still stands…"

She pondered him for a moment, holding his stare firmly, testing him.

"Alright." She finally relented, and she didn't miss the way his eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

"Really?"

" _One_ drink."

They both ended up having two, and when Graham went to the counter to pay for their tab, Emma stopped him.

"I've got this one." She told him, choosing to ignore the way that Ruby was eyeing the two of them. "To pay you back for this morning."

"You don't have to-"

"It's no big deal," she assured him. "I mean… we're partners now, right?"

Graham wondered if Emma had ever had a partner before, and what kind.

"Right." Graham said, swallowing roughly.

Two drinks each weren't enough to make either of them drunk- they _were_ on the clock- just enough to make Emma feel completely at ease in his presence.

But hours later after the effects of the alcohol had completely worn off, and that feeling of comfort remained, Emma found herself wondering if it was really the alcohol at all or if it was just him.

* * *

Graham and Emma looked at each other confused, Emma gripping the badge he had just offered her in her hand, as the phones began ringing off the hook.

If Emma hadn't known any better, she would have sworn that there had just been an earthquake, but an earthquake in Maine? That sounded absurd.

"You okay?" Graham asked, and she looked at him, surprised to see the amount of genuine concern reflected in his eyes.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm fine."

She watched him as he picked up the closest ringing phone. She knew that she should probably be doing the same thing, but this was her first day… she didn't know what to do.

She suddenly felt extremely under qualified.

"There's been a cave-in at the mines," Graham informed her as he hung up the phone. "We should go."

The ride to the cave-in site was mostly silent. Emma's seatbelt kept her pressed tightly against her seat, but she was fidgeting, Graham noticed. First, she had been picking at her perfectly painted red nails and now she had taken to clutching her legs at the knee, rubbing up and down furiously, creating friction.

"Hey." Graham spoke up and Emma turned to look at him, her frantic movements stalling. He was the picture of calm and collected. "There's no reason to be nervous."

"What if someone's hurt?" she countered.

"We would know about it by now," he told her. "Trust me, everything's going to be fine. We just have to secure the scene to keep anyone from going in there, maybe do some damage control, but that's it. Nothing you can't handle."

She nodded, leaning back in her seat, and he couldn't help but smile proudly at the way that her hands stayed still for the rest of the ride.

* * *

"I work for the town now."

Emma didn't miss the way that Regina's face twisted with anger at this new piece of information.

But there was also surprise…

"She's my new deputy."

Graham hadn't told Regina that he hired her?

"Well, they say the mayor's always last to know." Regina said dryly.

"It's in my budget." He spoke in clipped tones, and Emma looked back and forth between the two curiously.

"Indeed," she replied, lips curled back in an intimidating snarl. "Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control?"

Emma stepped away to grab some crime scene tape, hanging back awkwardly as Regina delivered what was meant to be a reassuring speech, until Graham came back to help her.

"Here." He said, taking the roll of tape in his hands. "You start over there and I'll pull, we can tie it around the fence posts as we go."

Emma nodded, tying it around the first post as he looked on silently. He pulled the tape along and she followed as the curious crowd began to dissipate. Emma saw Regina tuck Henry into the backseat of her car, and wondered why Graham hadn't told Regina about hiring her.

Her earlier fears of ulterior motives that she had pushed aside began to trickle back up towards the surface.

"Regina looked pretty unhappy back there," Emma commented.

"Anything that kept you here was going to make Regina unhappy," Graham pointed out.

"Why did you keep her in the dark about it?" She asked him. "I mean, I get that she's gonna be mad. But, if it's gonna piss her off _that_ much, why hire me at all?"

"I needed some help at the station," Graham said offhandedly, stopping to tie the tape. "You seemed like you'd be good at it."

"You needed help?" Emma questioned, clearly skeptical. "You and I both know that's not true."

He finished tying the tape in a knot, rising to his full height, meeting her eyes for a split second before continuing forward.

"So, what's the real reason?"

Graham sighed loudly. What did she want to hear? That it was boring working at a police station by himself everyday? That he was desperate for some company?

 _Her_ company?

He shrugged. "I don't know, Emma."

* * *

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Graham asked her, his voice tinged with hopefulness and uncertainty. "Or was today enough to scare you away for good?"

Emma chuckled. "From the job or from Storybrooke?"

"From… all of it."

"It's weird." Emma admitted. "I'm not used to having people depend on me, and now that's kind of gonna be my job…"

The two of them laughed and he relished the return of her smile. Not the strained one from the restaurant, the one that was real and true and beautiful.

"You think you could get used to it?" he asked.

She unclipped her deputy's badge from her belt, turning it over and over again in her palm.

"I guess I'm gonna have to…"

She turned the badge one more time, passing it between her fingers, realizing that she liked the feeling of it.

Something real and tangible that she could hold on to…

"See you tomorrow," she called over her shoulder.

Graham grinned widely at her retreating form. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

"Hey," Mary Margaret beamed as Emma entered the apartment. "Good first day?"

Emma grinned back, nodding her reply.

"Everything seems to be working out for you here, Emma." Mary Margaret said happily. "Henry and this new job…"

"You're talking like you know something," Emma observed.

"Well, I stopped by Granny's tonight to get some dinner and Ruby _may_ have mentioned…" She trailed off, looking to Emma to fill in the rest.

Emma rolled her eyes. _That Ruby was a piece of work._

"It was just lunch." Emma assured her.

"He's very sweet," Mary Margaret commented, bringing a mug of cocoa to her lips, and Emma realized that Ruby had probably told her about the hot chocolate too. "And handsome, and _single_ …"

"And my _boss_ ," she countered.

"I didn't hear you denying anything else I sad."

"Okay, I've heard enough." Emma told her, shaking her head amusedly. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

When Emma woke up the following morning, she was surprised to find that she was actually looking forward to going to work. She couldn't remember the last time that had happened, probably because her usual line of work had her chasing down criminals. But her good mood had been ruined when Henry showed up at her doorstep in a puddle of tears, and was crushed even further when Regina had called saying that Henry had gone missing again.

Going with the only lead she had, Emma had gone with Archie out to the mines. Henry hadn't appeared to be there, but Archie was convinced, so the two of them continued to poke around.

The ground began to shake and Emma fell, gripping one of the posts to sturdy herself. She was beginning to think that this whole thing had been a mistake. She and Graham had blocked this area off for a reason; it wasn't safe. The ground shook again, more violently, and Emma could hear the sound of rocks falling and shifting around.

"Archie?" She called out, but there was no answer.

She pressed her face to the wall of rocks, but everything had moved so that she could barely see past the cave entrance. She combed a hand through her hair, silently willing herself not to panic, and grabbed her phone, dialing the first person she could think of.

He answered after the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Graham." She suddenly felt flooded by both panic and relief. "I need your help. It's Henry, something's happened…"

"Emma, where are you?" He asked, and she could already hear the reassuring sound of keys jingling in his hands.

"The mines."

He showed up ten minutes later, siren blaring loudly. He ran out of the car, slamming the door behind him, ducking under the perimeter they had set like a seasoned expert.

"Emma." He said, and she felt his hand at her shoulder once again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just Henry…" She told him, and her voice sounded hysterical even to her own ears. "He's stuck in there, and Archie…"

"He followed him in?" Graham asked.

"I don't know," Emma replied. "I didn't see. The ground was shaking, he could have fallen in."

"It's gonna be okay, Emma." He assured her. "More help is coming."

Graham was right.

Within minutes, more sirens could be heard in the distance, and Graham squeezed her shoulder, telling her again that she had nothing to worry about.

He kept his hand there. Even as the cars began to drive up, he didn't move his hand. It was only when people started leaving their cars that he took it away.

He may not have cared what people thought of them, but she still did.

* * *

A large crowd had gathered at the cave-in site, and she stood with Graham and Marco in front of the now inaccessible cave wall, the three of them brainstorming.

She felt the ground trembling beneath her feet again and she reached out to find something to steady herself. The closest thing was Graham's back and she laid her shaky hand there, before he reached his arm out, catching her around the waist.

He held her there for a second, just until the tremors ended, his eyes silently asking her if she was okay.

It had only been a second, but it had felt safe and nice, like something that she would want to feel again.

* * *

Things were looking brighter after Pongo discovered the hidden airshaft. Marco fastened a hook to the airshaft's grate and connected that same hook to his truck, and Graham watched as Emma directed Ruby on how much pressure to put on the gas pedal. He felt a surge of pride swell in his chest, watching her, and he wasn't sure why.

The grate came loose and Graham lifted it, moving it aside as he, Emma, and Regina peered down the length of the shaft.

"We need to lower someone straight down," Marco advised.

"I've got a harness." Graham was quick to volunteer, and Emma felt deeply touched by the fact that he was willing to risk his own life for her son's.

Despite his bravery, Emma knew that she had to be the one to go, and after convincing Regina, moved away from the airshaft to secure the harness. Graham stepped to the side, helping her.

"Emma, I wish you would let me help…" he said to her.

"Graham, you _have_ helped."

She smiled at him gratefully as he continued to fasten the harness around her.

"Just be careful, okay?"

He didn't look at her when he said it, his eyes focused on the dirt instead, and she found herself wishing she could feel the supportive touch of his hand on her shoulder one more time.

* * *

When she was lifted from the shaft, her ears immediately assaulted by clapping and cheering, Graham's face was all she could see. Regina quickly plucked Henry from Emma's arms and she stood, still wobbling on her feet, until she felt Graham's hand.

It was at her elbow this time.

She took a moment to regain her balance and rid herself of the harness, staring at him with eyes that she could only hope reflected her appreciation, before launching herself into his arms. She did it quickly, before she could talk herself out of it, and was surprised by how much she was tempted to just tilt her head slightly so that it could rest on his shoulder.

He seemed taken back at first, but it was mere seconds before his arms were wrapped tightly around her and she relaxed into his embrace, and, again, she thought that this was something she that could get used to.

The two of them stayed for awhile after the rescue, socializing and celebrating with the rest of the crowd, and Emma thought briefly about how they probably looked more like a couple now than they ever did before.

Except, this time, she found that she didn't care all that much.

* * *

Once they were back at the sheriff station, the pair sat in comfortable silence, free from the prying eyes of Storybrooke.

"You don't have to stay, you know." Graham said quietly, swiveling in his chair. "It's been a long day. You should get some rest."

Emma knew that the longer she stayed out, the more questions Mary Margaret would have for her when she returned.

"You've had enough of me?" She smiled lightly.

He laughed softly, shaking his head tiredly. "Never."

For a moment, the air became heavy between them, and Emma wondered how things could change so fast.

"You're right." He glanced back at her curiously and she stood, gathering her jacket from where it hung over her chair. "If I don't get going soon, Mary Margaret… she worries…"

Graham grinned, knowing all too well how Mary Margaret could be. "Can't have that."

Emma slid her jacket over her shoulders, pushing her chair back into its rightful place. She paused, her fingers clutching the top of her chair, before she spun back around to face him.

"Thank you," she said to him, and she hoped her voice conveyed her sincerity. He quirked a brow at her and she clarified. "For today."

"It's my job," he reminded her.

"You offering to strap on a harness and rescue my kid from a mine is not part of your job description."

"Yeah, well… I care, Emma."

"About Henry." She made sure that it was a statement and not a question, because she knew what his answer would be and she wasn't sure why, but it scared her.

He nodded. "About Henry."

It was different for her, having people that cared.

"Well, thanks again." She spoke softly. "For everything."

"Get home safe." His touch found her shoulder again, and Emma began to feel like she was back on shaky ground. "I'll see you tomorrow."

His fingers fell from her skin and she began to step backwards towards the door.

"See you tomorrow."

* * *

Emma entered the apartment carefully, not wanting to wake Mary Margaret if she was sleeping, but as she had expected, Mary Margaret had been waiting up for her.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret ran over to her, engulfing the blonde in a hug. "Ruby told me what happened today at the mines! Are you okay?"

 _Ruby_. Emma shook her head. _Of course._

"I'm fine," Emma promised her, freeing herself from her embrace. "It was actually a good day."

Mary Margaret eyed her curiously. "It was?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay…"

"Can we talk more tomorrow?" Emma asked Mary Margaret. "I could really go for a shower."

"Of course."

Emma smiled. The more time that she spent in Storybrooke- with Mary Margaret and Henry and Graham- the more Storybrooke began to feel like something she never had…

 _Home_.

"Goodnight, Mary Margaret."

Maybe Graham had been right before, maybe she and Storybrooke were a good fit.


End file.
